Heat-insulating glass panel

Abstract

The subject matter of this invention is a polygonal heat-insulating glass panel with straight edges and a flat surface, in which the two parallel flat glass panes (1) enclosing the inner space of the glass panel are connected to each other, at least on one side, by a transparent, hermetically sealed spacer (2), forming a closed frame with the other sides. The transparent spacer (2) is composed of an adhesive mould incorporating a transparent adhesive body (5) and an adhesive flange (6) applied between an outer edge sealing glass strip (4.1) and an inner edge sealing glass strip (4.2), where the width of the outer edge sealing glass strip (4.1) matches that of the glass panel, while the width of the inner edge sealing glass strip (4.2) closing the inner space of the glass panel matches that of the inner space of the glass panel. The ends of the flat glass panes (1) are chamfered to allow cutting through the adhesive flange (6) in a way that, at the edges of the flat glass panes (1), the sealing lip formed by chamfering touches the sealing surface 13 of the outer edge sealing glass strip (4.1) of the transparent spacer (2) pressed between the flat glass panes (1).

Claims

1. A polygonal heat-insulating glass panel with straight edges and a flat surface, in which the two parallel flat glass panes (1) enclosing the inner space of the glass panel are connected to each other, at least on one side, by means of a transparent, hermetically sealed spacer (2), forming a closed frame with the other sides, with the following features: the transparent spacer (2) is composed of an adhesive mould incorporating a transparent adhesive body (5) and an adhesive flange (6) applied between an outer edge sealing glass strip (4.1) and an inner edge sealing glass strip (4.2), where the width of the outer edge sealing glass strip (4.1) matches that of the glass panel, while the width of the inner edge sealing glass strip (4.2) closing the inner space of the glass panel matches that of the inner space of the glass panel; the edges of the flat glass panes (1) are chamfered to match the adhesive flange (6); at the edges of the flat glass panes (1), the sealing lip (12) formed by chamfering directly contacts the sealing surface 13 of the outer edge sealing glass strip (4.1) of the transparent spacer (2) pressed between the flat glass panes (1).

2. A glass panel according to claim 1, featuring sodium calcium silicate material for the flat glass panes (1).

3. A glass panel according to claim 1, characterised by the tempered aluminium silicate glass or tempered sodium calcium silicate glass material of the outer and inner edge sealing glass strips (4.1, 4.2).

4. A glass panel according to claim 3, characterised by the 0.4-2 mm thickness of the outer and inner edge sealing glass strips (4.1, 4.2).

5. A glass panel according to claim 1, where the material of the transparent adhesive body (5) and the adhesive flange (6) is ideally thermoplastic polyurethane or EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate).

6. A glass panel according to claim 1, with a 3-75° bevel angle on the flat glass panes (1).

7. A glass panel according to any of claim 1, where the polygon formed by the flat glass panes (1) is a rectangle.

Description

[0012] The objectives of the invention can be achieved by means of the heat-insulating glass panel described in claim 1, the benefits of which are described in the sub-claims.

[0013] The invention is described in detail with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which

[0014] FIG. 1 shows the general design of the heat-insulating glass panel;

[0015] FIG. 2 shows possible design shapes for the chamfer at the edge of the flat glass pane;

[0016] FIG. 3a shows the transparent spacer before being glued to the flat glass panes;

[0017] FIG. 3b shows the transparent spacer glued between the flat glass panes; and

[0018] FIG. 4 shows a conventional spacer placed between flat glass panes.

[0019] FIG. 1 shows a polygonal heat-insulating glass panel with a flat surface according to the invention, the straight edges of which form a rectangle. The glass panel consists of two flat glass panes 1 with a thickness of 2-12 mm arranged in parallel, which are connected by transparent spacers 2 on the two longer sides of the glass pane. In FIG. 1, the flat glass panes 1 are connected to each other on the shorter lower and upper sides using conventional spacers 3. The spacers 2 and 3 form a closed frame along the edges of the glass panel, which encloses the inner space of the glass panel with a hermetic seal. In line with the method and place of use, the non-transparent shorter sides of the glass panel, where the strict aesthetic requirement of perfect transparency does not need to be enforced, can be attached for example to separate frame elements, which can be used to handle the glass pane.

[0020] FIG. 2 shows the shapes for the chamfer of the edges of the flat glass panes 1, which ensure the water-tightness of the glass panel. In one of the shapes the edges of the flat glass panes 1 are chamfered—considering the installation situation—with an opening towards the outer space, forming a sealing lip 12, with a bevel angle λ of 3-75°. For this shape, the sealing lips 12 are formed by chamfering 7 from one direction only. In the other shape, the flat glass pane 1 is chamfered at an angle λ 7 from two directions, resulting in the sealing lip 12.

[0021] FIG. 3a shows the structure of the transparent spacer 2, fitted to the edges of the flat glass panes 1. The transparent spacer 2 is a flat T-shaped structural element consisting of a transparent adhesive mould applied between a 0.4-2 mm thick outer edge sealing glass strip 4.1 and an inner edge sealing glass strip 4.2, with sufficient thickness to fill the space between the chamfer 7 and the sealing surface 13. The width of the outer edge sealing glass strip 4.1 matches the structural width of the glass panel, so it seals the edge of the glass panel. The width of the inner edge sealing glass strip 4.2 is 6-26 mm, matching the width of the inner space of the glass panel and the distance between the flat glass panes 1.

[0022] The adhesive mould consists of a transparent adhesive body 5 and two adhesive flanges 6 projecting from it to the sides, with a thickness of 0.1-2 mm and a width equal to the thickness of the flat glass pane 1. The production width of the transparent adhesive body 5 exceeds the width of the inner edge sealing glass strip 4.2 by 0.1-0.6 mm. The material of the adhesive is ideally transparent thermoplastic polyurethane. It is well-known in the state of the art that non-transparent polyurethane of two components or becoming crosslinked as a result of air humidity is widely used to seal and glue heat-insulating glass structures.

[0023] Glass strips 4.1 and 4.2 of the transparent spacer 2 are made of tempered aluminosilicate glass or tempered sodium calcium silicate glass. Aluminosilicate glass is made of aluminium, silica and oxygen molecules, and is highly resistant to harmful mechanical impacts despite being light and thin, with a thickness of possibly less than 1 mm. The mechanical resistance of a tempered glass strip is many times that of non-tempered glass. The glass is tempered either thermally or by way of a chemical process. In the case of thermal tempering, the glass is heated and then abruptly cooled using air. Chemical tempering is done by heating potassium nitrate to a liquid state, approximately 450° C., and the glass is kept in the melt for the time required to reach the desired level of tempering. As a result, the sodium molecules on the surface of the glass are replaced with much larger potassium molecules, and surface tension is created in the glass.

[0024] FIG. 3b shows the transparent spacer 2, glued between the flat glass panes 1. The material of the flat glass panes 1 is sodium calcium silicate glass, commonly used in construction and available in panes. When the transparent spacer 2 is pressed between the flat glass panes 1, their sealing lip 12 cuts through the adhesive from the adhesive body 5 of the transparent spacer 2, which is pressed out by the outer edge sealing glass strip 4.1 towards the sealing lip 7. The adhesive flange 6 of the transparent spacer 2 is also positioned between the chamfered edge of the flat glass pane 1 and the outer edge sealing glass strip 4.1. It is essential that the V-shaped space created by the chamfer 7 is filled by the adhesive, and the thickness of the adhesive flange 6 must be chosen accordingly. The transparent spacer 2 must be pressed between the flat glass panes 1 until the sealing lips 12 of the flat glass panes 1 reach the outer edge sealing glass strip 4.1 without leaving a gap. FIG. 3b shows this situation. Here, the fitted glass panes are fastened by the adhesive within the space created by the chamfer 7, and the glass sealing lip 12 reaching the outer edge sealing glass strip 4.1 provides a perfect vapour barrier for the glass panel, as confirmed by our experiments. This solution also achieves the objective of making almost the entire edge of the glass panel transparent and the fitting of the chamfered sealing lip 12 on the outer edge sealing glass strip 4.1 only appears as a hair-thin strip.

[0025] FIG. 4 illustrates the construction of a conventional spacer 3, which may be installed, for example, on the shorter sides of a glass panel according to the invention. It can be seen in the figure that a spacer profile piece 8 is placed between the flat glass panes 1, which can be made of various materials, sealing the inner space between the flat glass panes 1, meaning that its width is the same as that of the inner space. The spacer piece 8 is filled with desiccant material 9, which is fastened to the flat glass panes 1 with a butyl strip 10. The spacer 3 is fastened to the flat glass panes 1 by means of an adhesive 11 suitable for the production of heat-insulating glass, pressed between the butyl strip 10 and the flat glass panes 1.

[0026] Below you can find a brief description of the manufacturing process of the glass panel. When manufacturing the transparent spacer 2, the aluminosilicate glass strips are first cut to size, their edges are polished, and then the pieces are tempered. Afterwards, thermoplastic polyurethane is laminated at approx. 110° C. between a piece of cut-to-size and tempered outer edge sealing glass strip 4.1 and an inner edge sealing glass strip 4.2 in a Teflon-coated special tool, forming the “T” shape of the spacer 2.

The longer edge of the flat glass panes 1 is chamfered with a special grinding wheel, and then the panes are tempered in a conventional tempering furnace.
When assembling the glass panels, the profile elements 8 of the conventional spacer 3 are placed on one of the two angled flat glass panes 1, and then is fitted together with the other angled glass panel. Subsequently, the transparent spacers 2 are placed on the longer edges, and then this composition is placed in a press, which allows controlled pressing from three sides per edge. This press is used to press the transparent spacers against the glass panels at approx. 110° C. in a way that the glass edges completely cut through the polyurethane adhesive, creating “glass to glass” sealing on the outer edge sealing glass strip 4.1. After pressing, the excess adhesive flowing out over the edges of the glass panel is removed and after that the lower and upper edges featuring conventional spacers 3 are filled up with a sealant suitable for the production of heat-insulating glass.
At the end of the process, the inner space of the glass panel is filled, where necessary, with argon or krypton gas or air is left in it.

[0027] An advantage of the heat-insulating glass structure according to the invention is that its edge is almost perfectly transparent, allowing an aesthetic look suitable for high-quality doors and windows.

As a further advantage of the solution, the outer edge sealing glass strip protects the edge of the glass pane from harmful mechanical effects when being hit, for example when a shopping cart is pushed against it, because in that case only the glass strip is broken rather than the entire glass pane. The impact resistance of the outer edge sealing glass strip can be further improved by gluing a piece of transparent plastic to its outer surface.